Family Portrait
by MegTDJ
Summary: While Jack is MIA, Janet and Daniel do some family bonding. #22 in the Love Comes Softly series. DanJan


Title: Family Portrait  
Author: MegTDJ  
Category: Missing scene  
Rating: K+  
Pairing: Daniel/Janet UST  
Spoilers: A Hundred Days  
Summary: While Jack is MIA, Janet and Daniel do some family bonding. #22 in the Love Comes Softly series.  
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, its universe and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please dont archive without my permission.

Author's notes: Thanks to Kerri, Misty, and all the Gateview gals for the ideas and inspiration. Fic writing is no fun without you guys!

Slight disclaimer: I used a real mall as the setting for this fic, and while I know for a fact that this mall did have a skating rink around the time of season 3, I dont know whether it had any of the other features mentioned. If you know the mall in question and my description is way off, I apologize. Literary license, and all that jazz. ;)

_(Additional note: I apologize if there are any quotation marks or apostrophes missing in this fic. FFnet ate them all when I first posted it. I tried to fix them, but chances are I missed a few. Sorry about that!)_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox  
**Family Portrait**

It was well past midnight, but Janet was waiting in the control room when Daniel returned from Tollana. She could tell from the look on his face that things hadn't gone as well as they'd hoped.

"They were more than willing to help, but said it would take about a year for them to get a ship out to Edora," he was saying to General Hammond as Janet entered the gateroom. "They're putting a rescue mission together as we speak."

"A year..." Hammond said thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose that's better than never. Good work, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel nodded and forced a smile as he stepped down from the ramp. It was then that he noticed Janet waiting over by the door.

"Hey, Janet," he said wearily as he approached her. "What are you still doing here?"

Janet waited until General Hammond passed her on his way out of the gateroom before she responded. "I just wanted to be here when you brought back word from the Tollans," she said. "I heard what you said to the general. I'm so sorry, Daniel."

Daniel sighed and removed his glasses so he could rub his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "It'll be one hell of a long year if Sam cant figure out how to build that particle beam generator."

Janet laid her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "She will. You know Sam. She'll never give up until she has the answer."

Daniel nodded and turned to leave the gateroom, gesturing for Janet to follow along. "How has she been today?" he asked. "Last I saw her, she was in desperate need of a night's sleep."

"Mm, kind of like you are now," Janet said pointedly.

Daniel gave her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'll get right on that," he said. "As soon as I've spoken to Sam. She'll want to know what the Tollans had to say."

"I'll tell her, Daniel," Janet said as they entered the elevator. "You go home. Get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

Janet gave him her I'm-in-charge look. "Positive. Go."

Daniel seemed hesitant, but he didn't protest when they reached the level that held Sam's lab. He silently stepped aside and allowed Janet to step out of the elevator.

Janet looked at him with an aching heart as she turned back to say goodbye. His shoulders were sagging and his head was down like a puppy that had just been kicked. She knew how much Jack O'Neill meant to the rest of SG-1, so she knew the fact that he was out there where they couldnt get to him must be tearing them all apart. She hadn't even dared to tell her daughter the truth yet, because she knew Cassie would feel the same way.

Cassie... suddenly Janet had an idea of how to lift Daniel's spirits just a little.

"Daniel!" she said just as the elevator door was closing.

He reached out to hold it open just in time. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"I just remembered... Cassie and I have a trip to Chapel Hills Mall scheduled for tomorrow morning, and since she told me just the other day that she's been missing you lately..."

"You want me to go shopping with you?"

The doubtful look on Daniel's face made Janet realize what a strange request it really was. "Um... well... only if you want to, and... have nothing else planned," she stammered.

Daniel scratched his head thoughtfully for a moment, but then he forced a smile and nodded. "Sure, I'd love to."

Janet smiled in relief. "Great. We can meet up by the ice arena at... say, 1030 hours?"

Daniel looked a bit bewildered, but he nodded anyway. "See you then," he said just before the elevator doors closed.

Janet didn't allow herself to question whether she'd just made a mistake or not. Daniel spending the day with Cassie would undoubtedly help to cheer him up if only for a little while, and Cassie could do with all the attention from SG-1 that Janet could drag out of them right now. God only knew when Sam would see the light of day again, and with Colonel O'Neill out of the picture indefinitely...

She nodded to herself as she turned on her heel and headed for Sam's lab. It would be a good day for all three of them. She would make sure of that.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"So... when exactly do you want me to take off so you and Daniel can enjoy your date in peace?"

Janet blinked and took her eyes off the road just long enough to shoot a glare at Cassandra. "Thats not funny."

Cassie put on her most innocent expression in return. "What? That's what this is, isn't it?"

"NO," Janet said firmly. "Daniel's just... been feeling kind of down, and you haven't been spending much time with SG-1 lately... I thought it would be good for both of you to spend the day together."

"Uh huh."

Janet sighed. Cassie had been in an odd mood all morning, and it was starting to get on her nerves. "Just... don't make the poor man feel uncomfortable by saying things like that in front of him, okay?" she said.

"Whatever." With that, Cassie returned to staring indifferently out the window.

Janet was already becoming tired of the teenage years.

She couldn't believe how relieved she felt when they entered the mall and saw Daniel standing by the ice arena with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cup of coffee as he watched the skaters practicing their routines out on the ice. Part of her almost hated the way he made every room seem brighter just by being in it, since it brought to mind all the feelings she'd been trying for months to forget. This time, though, she allowed herself a bright smile and a hearty wave when he looked her way.

Even Cassie broke out of her sour mood for a moment when she saw him. "Hi, Daniel," she said with a small smile as they drew closer to him.

"Good to see you, Cass," Daniel said as she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms briefly around his neck. "Hows school been lately?"

Cassie grimaced and shrugged. "Okay. How's... you know... work?"

Janet could see that Daniel was struggling to keep a smile on his face as he tried to come up with an answer. "Um... it's... okay," he said. Then he took a deep breath and turned to Janet. "So, uh... what exactly are we shopping for today?"

Janet shrugged. "Nothing in particular."

"Well... then how will we know where to go?" Daniel asked, confused.

Janet could barely hold back from laughing at the look on his face. Thankfully, Cassie answered his question with, "We're girls, Daniel. We always know." She tapped the side of her nose mysteriously and started walking towards the nearest store.

Daniel smiled and shook his head, glancing at Janet with a sparkle in his eye that had been missing since before Colonel O'Neill's disappearance. "Is it just me, or is she growing up too fast?" he said.

Janet smiled as they started following in Cassie's wake. "She certainly is," she said with a sigh. "Though I wouldn't mind so much if it means she'll grow out of her 'typical teenager' phase all the faster."

Daniel laughed, but soon sobered as they entered the store. "How was Sam last night?" he asked quietly, as if fearing that Cassie would overhear them despite being absorbed in sorting through a rack of sweaters ten feet away.

"She looked even more exhausted than you did," Janet said. "I have to admit, I'm a little worried about her. She hasn't slept in days, and I don't think she will until she figures out how to build that device."

Janet could see Daniel's jaw clench and his forehead furrow in concern as she spoke, so she quickly switched gears and laid a gentle hand on his arm. "But I think for Cassie's sake, we should both try to take our minds off all of that for a few hours, hmm? Maybe if we pretend hard enough that everything's alright, we'll start to believe it ourselves."

She forced herself to smile somewhat convincingly, but Daniel didn't look over at her to see it.

"Okay," he said. "For Cassie's sake."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

True to his word, Daniel put on his brave face and made like everything was normal for the rest of the morning. His smile and light-hearted attitude only faltered when Cassie suggested they try improving his wardrobe.

"But... my wardrobe doesn't need improving," he protested as Cassie grabbed him by the hand and dragged him into Menswear.

"Trust me," Cassie said. "It does. It's one thing to be an absent-minded professor, Daniel, but do you actually have to look like one? Here. Try this on." She thrust a leather jacket into his arms before he had a chance to say another word.

Janet laughed out loud at the piteous look Daniel shot her way. "Maybe we should try to find him something a little less..."

"Biker gang?" Daniel suggested, looking at the chains and studs attached to the jacket as he handed it back to Cassie.

"Exactly." Janet linked arms with him and steered him towards the dress clothes. "Maybe we can find you a new suit. You'll need one for all the negotiation work you'll be doing on Tollana in a few weeks."

"What's wrong with..."

Janet and Cassie both turned to give Daniel sharp looks before he could finish his sentence.

Daniel cleared his throat nervously and nodded. "Right. New suit. Absolutely."

Janet smiled and gave his arm a squeeze. "Relax, Daniel. This won't hurt a bit."

"Yeah, you've said that to me before," Daniel said with an edge of suspicion in his tone. "It's usually followed by sharp instruments in sensitive places, so forgive me if I'm a little skeptical."

Janet and Cassie both laughed, and Janet's heart swelled when she realized it was the first laughter she'd heard from her daughter in days.

To her surprise, it wasn't the last. Cassie seemed like her old self again for the next hour or two selecting shirts and jackets for Daniel to try on, picking out the most outrageous ties just to see the look of fear on his face, and placing weird hats on each of their heads and striking poses while Daniel and Janet passed Cassie"s camera back and forth between them. Janet couldn"t remember the last time she"d had so much fun.

She thought for a moment that the fun was over when she caught the eye of a nearby saleswoman just as Cassie draped a scarf around her neck and started strutting up and down the aisle like a movie star. She hurried over to the woman and whispered, "I'm so sorry. We dont usually act like this in stores, it's just that..."

"It's alright," the woman said with a dismissive wave. "It's nice to see a family enjoying themselves together. It seems so rare these days."

Janet opened her mouth to protest when she heard the word "family," but she was interrupted by the sound of Daniel's laughter. She turned to see him standing there with a tie covered in bright yellow happy faces draped around his neck. He flashed her a bright smile and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. She could tell by the satisfied look on Cassie's face that there was no way Daniel was leaving the store without buying it.

It suddenly hit her... they really were a family.

"Yes," she said with a wistful smile. "Much too rare."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

All of the shopping, laughing, and bag-hauling of the morning gave them all hearty appetites come lunchtime. The food court was busy, but somehow they managed to snag a table all to themselves in a quiet corner where they could enjoy their hamburgers and French fries in relative peace.

"You know, I don't think I've ever spent more than an hour in a mall in my entire life," Daniel said as he took a moment to rest between burgers. "This is... fun."

Janet laughed. "Just wait until it gets to closing time and Cassie still wants to visit one more store. Then it might not seem quite so fun."

Daniel chuckled, and they both looked over at Cassie for her reaction. Their smiles soon faded when they saw that she had turned morose again, slumped over the table with her chin in one hand while she nibbled half-heartedly on a French fry.

"Cassie?" Janet said. "You okay?"

Cassie sighed and dropped her fry back into the bucket. "When are you guys just gonna tell me?"

Janet and Daniel exchanged confused looks. "Tell you what?" Daniel asked.

Cassie squirmed in her seat for a second before blurting out, "Jack's dead, isn't he?"

Janet and Daniel exchanged looks again, but this time they were of resignation. "Cassie..."

"You can tell me, Mom. I'm a big girl now. You don't have to protect me anymore."

The words coming out of her mouth might have been trying to convince them that she could handle it, but the look on her face and the quiver in her voice made it clear that she was terrified of being right.

"Jack isn't dead," Daniel said firmly. "He's... far away, with no immediate means of getting back, but... he's alive. And we're going to bring him home. I promise you that."

Janet wasn't sure they should make promises they might not be able to keep, but when she saw the weight that was lifted from Cassie's shoulders at Daniel's words, she didn't have the heart to argue.

"So... it's okay, then... that we were having fun today?" Cassie asked in a quiet, girlish voice.

"Oh, sweetheart," Janet said, her heart aching at the guilty look on her daughter's face. She wrapped her arm around Cassie's shoulders and gave her a comforting hug. "No matter what kind of trouble he's in, you know Colonel O'Neill would never want you to feel guilty for having fun."

"Yeah, that's... kind of his philosophy," Daniel said with a wry smile. "Besides, anything that results in blackmail-worthy photographs of me or your mom will receive his full stamp of approval. Trust me."

Cassie smiled, and all seemed well again... until Janet looked back at Daniel and saw a hint of pain in his eyes.

She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her that he might be feeling the same way.

"Cassie?" Janet said, leaning closer to her daughter with a conspiratorial air. "See that photo booth over there?" She pointed to a small, curtained booth a few yards away from where they were sitting.

"Is that what that is?" Cassie said. "Can we try it?"

Daniel looked like he was about to protest, but Janet quickly put some money in Cassie's hand and pushed her in the direction of the booth. The girl bounced over to the machine like a kid about to go on a carnival ride.

"Come on, Daniel," Janet said, taking his hand and hauling him to his feet. "One last humiliation, and then I promise, we'll go easy on you for the rest of the day."

Daniel shook his head as he picked up their bags and followed her across the concourse. "No, this... this has been good. I needed to take my mind off everything for a while."

Janet nodded slowly. "Daniel... what you said to Cassie... it's true, you know. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing right now... he wouldn't want us to sit around feeling miserable while we wait for him to come home."

"I know," Daniel said with a sigh. "I'm glad you invited me along today. Really. Thanks, Janet."

Janet smiled. "You know, you're always welcome to come by the house and spend some time with Cassie, or with me, or... both of us. I know you've been missing Sam and Colonel O'Neill's company."

"Yeah. Thanks, I'll... keep that in mind."

Janet stopped and lightly touched his arm. "You will find him, Daniel," she said. "It's just going to take some time."

Daniel nodded and swallowed heavily. "I know, I just... wish we knew one way or another if he's..."

The word "alive" hung in the air so heavily that, after a second or two, Janet couldn't remember whether he'd said it aloud or not.

Their grave moment was soon broken by the sound of Cassie's voice. "Are you coming?" she said, her head poking out from behind the curtain just long enough to give them an impatient glare before disappearing again.

Janet and Daniel looked at each other and laughed, the tension finally lifting. "After you," Janet said, ushering Daniel inside.

They all somehow managed to squeeze onto the bench together, Daniel and Janet on either side of Cassie with their arms around her shoulders, and soon the flash was going off in their faces. Janet was never sure what it was about photo booths that made people want to pull as many faces as they could, but she wasnt about to fight it. They fed the machine a handful of quarters three times before they felt they'd had enough.

Three strips of photos meant they could each keep one for themselves, and while Daniel and Cassie had a hard time deciding which of their silly faces they wanted to keep, Janet knew exactly which strip was meant for her. For the last picture on the third strip, the three of them had pressed their cheeks together, grinned, and waved goodbye to the camera. The picture made them look so comfortable and happy, like they really were a family.

Janet smiled as she tucked the pictures into her purse. Tomorrow would find her back on the base worrying over Sam and Daniel as they worked themselves sick trying to find their lost leader, but today... today she would always remember as the day they took their family portrait.

The End


End file.
